Plymouth newsroom wins variety of journalism awards

Plymouth newsroom staffers were recognized by fellow journalists from throughout New England.

BOSTON – Plymouth newsroom staffers were recognized by fellow journalists from throughout New England Saturday night. The local GateHouse Media journalists won seven awards in a variety of categories.

The Better Newspaper Contest, put on annually by the New England News and Press Association, honored journalists on their work from mid-2015 to mid-2016.

Emily Clark won first place for photo series. Clark launched a weekly photo showcase called The Tattoos of Plymouth, in which she photographed local residents and their tattoos and interviewed them about the stories behind their body art. Clark, an Old Colony Memorial multimedia journalist, was up against many leading professional photographers from throughout New England.

NENPA judges wrote: “Great idea for a photo series. Well done!”

Old Colony Memorial multimedia journalist Frank Mand won first place for government reporting. He wrote a succession of stories about Plymouth’s failed sewer main, from the line failures to the significant expense of repair to the politics of how the expense would be covered.

“He dug deep, providing important context from all sides, and his writing was engaging, authoritative and precise,” judges wrote. “What started as a public works story became an object lesson in politics, as Mand showed how the issue resonated in town elections.”

OCM multimedia journalist Rich Harbert won second- and third-place awards. The staff’s senior writer took second place in history writing for his lengthy series on local Vietnam War veterans.

“The Old Colony Memorial devoted a huge amount of space and energy into a belated welcome home to the men and women from its … readership who served in many roles in the Vietnam War. Kudos to Rich Harbert, who did so much work putting together this impressive package.”

Harbert won third place for obituary writing. His story about the passing of highly decorated World War II Army Ranger Tom Ruggerio was “a look at the life of a true American hero that provides a history lesson all should read,” judges wrote. “This is a well done tribute to a man who may have been short of height, but was long on courage.”

Senior multimedia journalist Frank Mulligan, who edits the Wareham Courier and The Sentinel (covering Marion, Mattapoisett and Rochester) took second place for humor column writing. Mulligan is usually in the running for this particular specialty.

“Hi columns are very creative,” judges wrote. “He takes us inside strange creatures … and takes the tales humorously to the very edge, then over it.”

OCM photographer Alyssa Stone won a second-place award for the Plymouth newsroom for pictorial photo (she won other awards, including first place, for GateHouse’ Marshfield newsroom, too). Stone shot a series of photos of a controlled burn in the Myles Standish State Forest.

“A beautiful image of a news event,” judges wrote. “Nicely done!”

Finally, the Old Colony Memorial won second place for audience/community involvement. The OCM opened its pages each week for local photographers to showcase their work. Hoping for maybe six or eight submissions, the paper ran new submissions each week for eight months.

“Plymouth is a beautiful town, with dozens of great photographers,” judges wrote. “This series took full advantage of that, both online and in print. The effort was distinguished by the large number of citizens who contributed images, by the quality of those images, and by the newspaper’s powerful presentation of collections of those photos.”

Plymouth journalists joined several GateHouse associates from the South Shore and throughout Eastern Massachusetts in a regular parade to the front of the ballroom at the Long Wharf Marriott Hotel in Boston.

“I continue to be inspired by the talented and dedicated journalists I work with covering the South Shore,” said Gregory Mathis, GateHouse’s regional director of news and operations; Mathis oversees newsroom functions in Plymouth, Marshfield, Randolph and Taunton. “As much as our industry has changed, our core mission of being community journalists allows us to not only chronicle, but share in the experiences of the people we cover.

“This annual celebration of the best work produced by journalists throughout New England validates the caliber of work being done by my colleagues. Not only was the number of awards impressive, but the number of categories in which we won the awards is an indication to me of how talented and versatile our journalists are.”